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The 99ers

The 99ers are the United States foremost exponents of punk/surf music, a genre that combines the instrumental style of the Ramones, and the surf related lyrics of the Beach Boys. They first came to prominence in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area when disc jockeys Ron Thums, Jean Silverberg and Blanche Fubar began to play their material on KFAI Radio. The band was signed to Spinout Records in 2008 and issued their first album Stand Up and Surf http://www.spinoutmusic.com/cd_036.html This garnered substantial airplay in the USA, being featured on stations in California, New York, New Jersey, Florida, Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin, which then generated airplay in Europe on Spanish national Radio and Australia. The first album featured mostly original, surf-themed material, often with a British flavor (“Surfing the UK”, “What Does a Scouser Do in the Fall?”, “Bovver Boy”), since the band’s chief songwriter, Steve Shannon, was born in Liverpool. However, covers of the Honeys (He’s a Doll), Freddy Cannon (Tallahassee Lassie), the Angels (You Can’t Take My Boyfriend’s Woody) and the Trashmen (Queen of the Surf – a rewrite of King of the Surf). The first album also featured a tribute to the Ramones, titled “Our Ramones”, a gesture repeated on their second album where the band again recorded tributes to the Ramones (“Hey Dee Dee”) and to the Japanese girl punk band Shonen Kinfe (“I Love My Shonen Knife”).

The first album’s line up was Molly Holley (vocals), Colin Selhurst (drums) and Steve Shannon (guitars). The band then expanded to a four piece with a succession of bass players including Paul Miksic, Carrie Summer, Sam Spade and Chris Cave. The line up with Sam Spade then issued their second album And Then There was Surf (http://www.spinoutmusic.com/cd_040.html). As well as featuring covers of the Honeys (Pray for Surf), D.D. Hope (California Surfer), Shangri La’s (heaven Only Knows) and the Barrcudas (Surfers Are Back) the album comprised surf-related songs performed in a Ramones style.

By the time of the third album, Everybody’s Rocking http://www.spinoutmusic.com/cd_042.html the band’s rockabilly roots were more prominent. This album featured Chris Cave on bass and comprised a distinctly Minnesotan flavor, with songs such as “Minnesota Day”, “Saint Paul Girls” and “Minnesota Sun”. The latter was a rewrite of the track generally identified as the generator of the punk/surf genre, the Ramones’ version of “California Sun”, originally recorded by the Rivieras in the 1960’s.